David Villa And Andres Iniesta Compliment Rubin Kazan After 1-1 Draw With Barcelona

By Paul Macdonald

David Villa and Andres Iniesta praise performance of Rubin after 1-1 draw with Barcelona.

Barcelona duo David Villa and Andres Iniesta commented on the difficulty of the opposition during their 1-1 draw with Russian champions Rubin Kazan in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

The Eastern European side produced an excellent display to take the lead against the 2009 champions before holding out to record a hugely respectable draw.

The result means that the Blaugrana have now failed to beat Rubin in their last three meetings, and Villa told journalists afterwards: “We had a difficult time in the whole game because they defended very well and were very dangerous on the counter. The woodwork and the goalkeeper have prevented us from scoring, but it was important that we managed to secure a point.”

Team-mate Iniesta also commented on the difficulty that the Catalan giants faced in breaking Rubin down, particularly in the second half, and added that he hoped the point will prove to be a pivotal one.

He remarked: “Rubin are tough opponents with very disciplined players and they are difficult to play against. The reality is we must ensure that the fourth time is a charm and that we manage to beat them next time.”

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